CARMICHAEL TAKES SEATTLE PODIUM

April 30, 2006

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 30, 2006.

Ricky Carmichael raced from the back of the field after poor start and off-track excursion to claim third position at Saturday night’s wet and muddy AMA Supercross Championship penultimate round at Qwest Field, Seattle.

Said Carmichael: “I gave it my all. I can’t say enough about my Makita Suzuki team - they’ve been behind me 100 percent. Now we’re going to go out to Las Vegas next week and do the best we can and whatever happens, happens.”

Because of the wet weather, the evening’s heat races were shortened from eight laps to six. In short order, Carmichael won the qualifying race and team-mate Ivan Tedesco came in third. The RM-Z450-mounted Makita Suzuki duo advanced to the Main.

Like the heat races, the Main Event was shortened due to wet conditions. Usually 20 laps long, the Seattle event was only 15 laps and when the gate dropped, Carmichael got a rough start and stalled out in the whoops. Even so, he soldiered on to pilot his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 to third place.

“All I can do is my best,” said Carmichael from the podium. “And right now, my best isn’t good enough. But this has been an amazing year. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished. I’ve won more races than I thought I would and this season has been great for the fans and great for the sport.”

Like Carmichael, Tedesco had a rough start but the Supercross-class rookie rode as hard and as consistently as possible and finished a strong seventh by the race’s end.
“I had a decent start in the main,” said Tedesco. “But then I came together with another rider and basically had to come from dead last, so I’m pretty happy with seventh, considering where I started from.”

The stage is now set for one of the most exciting Supercross showdowns ever: Carmichael is now tied at the top on 316 points with Reed with Stewart just five points adrift in the AMA series. In the World series – both of which come to a head in Las Vegas next weekend – Stewart leads Carmichael by 12 points with Reed third, 21 points down.

SUZUKI SOCIAL

For your safety, always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing when riding any motorcycle or ATV. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Study your owner's manual and always inspect your Suzuki before riding. Take a riding skills course. For the MSF street course nearest you, call 1-800-446-9227. Off-road riders can enroll in the DirtBike SchoolSM by calling 1-877-288-7093. ATV riders can call the SVIA at 1-800-852-5344 and we’ll even pay for the training. Suzuki engineered the GSX-Rs™, Hayabusa, and the QuadSport Z400 for experienced riders.

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